Arseniy Yatsenyuk: Together with the United States, Ukraine can determine global food policy

“Ukraine should not be only a breadbasket. We must sell ready products and conquer foreign markets”, urged Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk during An Hour of Questions to the Government at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Friday, July 17.

The Prime Minister stressed that cooperation in the agricultural sector is among the key areas assessing the results of the first Ukraine – U.S. Investment Conference.

"Ukraine is the country that can actually dictate the terms on the global agricultural product markets. Together with the United States of America we are capable to determine the global food policy", he said.

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, to achieve this we need significant investment flows: "In the scope of cooperation with the U.S. Ukraine needs updated equipment and advanced technologies".

He informed that to purchase new machinery our American partners consider an issue of extended financing of programs to buy advanced and qualitative equipment for Ukrainian agriculture area at a very low interest rates through Export-Import Bank of the United States.

"This procedure is now being considered. And I hope that the Ukrainian agricultural sector will obtain cheap long-term loans to purchase foreign high-quality equipment," he added.

Besides, with partners from the U.S.A. and Canada there was discussed construction of joint factories in Ukraine to produce agricultural machinery: “An agricultural state will have the potential to increase yields, raise competitiveness and demonstrate the entire world that we are not the breadbasket, but we are the country that is willing to sell added value - prepared foods and conquer foreign markets".